A Hero By Definition
by CleverforClever
Summary: Warning! Adult content, sexual assault, murder, hurt, etc. Stphanie is following in Sportacus' footsteps when his old rival, Crassus comes to town. Not for the kiddos.
1. Chapter 1

Clever

**A Hero By Definition**

Sportacus was a true hero to Stephanie. her first impression of Lazy Town was a bad one. No one wanted to be her friend, and nobody did anything fun. Then her uncle told her about Sportacus. Everything changed, because from then on, her blue angel would leap in to save the day. Day after day, Robbie would come up with some ridiculous scheme or another, and day after day Sportacus would foil the schemes with ease. But the days turned to weeks, which turned to months. Years passed as the pink flavored girl waited for her parents to call her home. Sportacus was always there, though. He was a true hero, and his villain was Robbie Rotten, or so she thought. Today, she would learn otherwise.

As was typical, Stephanie and the crew were at the sports court preparing for the upcoming school semester. Lazy Town had grown significantly since she first moved in. There were more kids at school now, more than five, anyway. The kids were playing a friendly game of tag when, Ziggy, who was 'it' at the time, was tripped. The blond boy hit the dirt, calling for Mommy, Trixie, and some character from his online game. Stephanie shook her head angrily. Ziggy had developed a mild form of diabetes, and was easily bruised these days. She went to confront her friend's assailant.

That turned out to be a mistake. It was a beast of a man, easily over six and a half feet tall, and twice as wide as she was. This meant almost nothing to a heroine like her, though. Surrounded by her friends, the pink girl piped out a demand for identification. The mountain of a man laughed without humor, his red, inhuman eyes transfixed on Stephanie.

"I am Roberto Crassus. Now get out of my way," he snarled. The kids exchanged looks of understanding. Robert was obviously Robbie Rotten. It was clear. When they were eight or nine, he could fool them, but teenagers were a lot more cynical.

"Right, let's just help you get accustomed to our town…" Trixie trailed off, and then clubbed the stranger over the head with a large mallet. Stephanie stepped back and blinked. "Get him!" the meaner brunette girl hollered. The rest of the group was more than willing to oblige.

The beating went on for a couple minutes. Stephanie felt bad, then again Robbie had done a lot over the years, and teenagers in general were nothing if not bitter.

"Oh, Robbie, I'm sorry…" She muttered.

"For what?" He asked pleasantly.

"For the beating you're getting," She turned, explaining to him. Doing a classic double take, her brain pieced together the classic bit of comedy, (if 'x' person is here, then who's….?) "Guys, guys, get off him!" She shrieked, pulling Stingy down before he could hit the man on the bottom with a sack of coins.

"Sir, are you okay?" She asked politely. His bloody hand encircled her neck as he gasped out a threat.

"I am coming for you, too…" He hissed.

"Crassus?" Robbie popped out. "You should have told me you were here! I always say how noisy these kids are. Come along now, we've got to get out of here before…"

With a 'swish,' a blue being dropped down in front of the duo.

"Sportacus!" Everybody yelled. Robbie put enough venom in it, and, surprisingly, Crassus put in much more. The man in blue looked about the group, who in turn looked very ashamed at what they had done. Stephanie felt as though she could die from embarrassment. Here was her hero. He taught Stephanie everything; how to live a healthy life, deal with death, he even administered the Talk. She blushed pink as she recalled the day he had sat down with her and Trixie explaining the facts of life. Her blush darkened when she realized that he had almost caught them beating some unknown man in the park. He had not been helping them all these years to watch them turn into criminals. Worse yet, he had decided to train her as Sporta-Steph, taking her up to his airship daily. Heroes did not let civilians get hurt.

Stephanie started to explain herself and stopped when she saw his face. It was bright red, and twisted into anger. She had never seen him so angry. Sportacus was a hero; he never hated anyone, until now.

"Robbie, what is he doing here?" He kept his words low, but they scared the children more than seeing a dead body.

Robbie Rotten looked about sheepishly, "Oh, yeah, him? Oh, you two know each other, I forgot about that. He's visiting me, something about life in the big city, being famous," He waved his hands, unimpressed.

"Go home kids," Sportacus said this with the finality of an undertaker. They scrambled to obey, but one child with pink hair strayed from the pack to listen in.

"Sportacus, my old friend, aren't you happy to see me?" Gasped the beaten man, blood running down his face. Stephanie gasped in shock. Had they beaten an old friend of his?

Sportacus looked on furiously, "You have to go, _old friend_. Leave town, forever!" This last statement echoed, sounding disturbingly like Robbie. Stephanie inched closer to the discussion in time to hear Robbie interject.

"But Sportacus look at how beat up he is. You can't possibly run him out of town like this!" He squealed, indignant. The look of the athlete's face was one that said that nothing would give him greater pleasure. "Come along now, Crassus, I'll take you home and take care of you."

Stephanie crept behind the gate, trying to stay low. The injured mystery man leaned on it heavily, gasping for breath. She felt guilt stab into her gut. What if they saw her now? She was in enough trouble as it is. Strong hands clasped around her hair, yanking her upwards. Stephanie yelped in pain.

"Old Sportacus may be in town, but I am going to beat him, again. And then, I'm going to get you, _pretty_," he snapped this last word harshly, pulling out a lock of her neon pink hair. Her eyes teared up at the pain, and she ran home.

Sportacus met her on the way, "Stephanie, I'm afraid you can't help me today."

She looked down, tears spilling out swiftly. First, she had disappointed him by allowing a man to be beaten, then she had been threatened which ended with her losing a few choice locks, and finally, he was going to punish her by grounding her.

She nodded her head in acceptance. He placed his hand on her shoulder, telling her it was only temporary. Stephanie had no idea what was really happening.


	2. Chapter Two Death of a Friend

Chapter 2 Death of a Friend

Stephanie had stayed inside for the rest of the day, bored out of her mind. At the end of the week, her uncle had held a trial, at which point, Robbie had dressed up as a lawyer, and tried to convince Meanswell to kick Sportacus out of the town. He failed, of course.

Being the mayor's niece came with perks. But one of those perks was not a free pass. The kids had to go help Crassus recover from the attack. Sportacus was surprising silent on this issue. The kids went down the tube to Robbie's place, and each stayed there for two hours every day. Stephanie hated it.

Crassus hated Sportacus, and made his loathing very clear. He subjected Stephanie to hours of toxic spew regarding her hero. And she could not even tell him not to be quiet. Although injured, he seemed to be healthy enough to paw and push her around whenever the urge hit him. And he was irritable all the time.

But the absolute worst part was his eyes. They seemed to regard those around him as sacks of meat. They were prey, and he, an injured lion. It scared them that he would soon be healthy enough to act on his predatory urges. Trixie even suggested killing him in his sleep.

Sportacus was absent during their time there. It hurt Stephanie that her hero did not seem to want to be around her anymore. As far as she could tell, the whole group was getting the silent treatment. Once more, days turned to weeks, which turned to months. Then something horrible happened.

Sportacus was exercising in his airship when his alarm went off. "Someone's in trouble," he said to himself. He called for the door, and leapt down from the dirigible. A hundred feet from the ground, he deployed his chute. B.A.S.E. jumping was much quicker than climbing down the ladder. About a dozen feet from the ground, something round a rubber hit Sportacus, knocking him off course into a tree. It took him a few seconds to recover. Pressing a button, his chute collapsed back into his backpack, and he took off.

Sportacus looked about. Nobody was out, but his crystal was still beeping. (Time to do awesome flips until I magically wind up where I'm supposed to be) Sportacus thought to himself. (Cue jumping music). Halfway through a particularly amazing flip, the hero spotted Ziggy on the ground. The blond boy was having an attack. His body was shaking. He was on a special medication to control the effects of eating nothing but sugar for eight years.

"The pen, I need it!" Said Sportacus reaching for the pen Ziggy had given him. He pulled out the instrument, but found that it had been broken in the fall. "Oh Ziggy, I hope you have one on you!" He explained, searching the boy frantically. Once more, his training kicked into place, focusing his mind on his goal, and nothing else.

And no sooner had he begun to fear the worst when he discovered three in the boy's backpack. Breathing a sigh of relief, Sportacus took the pen and injected it into the skin of the boy. He waited for the attack to break, but it just would not. He stepped back and heard something crunch under his feet. He looked down and saw another pen.

"Something's wrong," The hero said to himself. "I'd better get him to a hospital!" He flung the boy over his shoulder and took off. His crystal started to beep, first rapidly, and then it slowed to a double beeping.

Beep-beep, Beep-beep…. Beep-beep…. Beep…. Beep… it slowed like a heart-rate, then, it flat-lined. Sportacus knew that it was too late by the time he put his friend over his should, but he had to try.

"Oh no, Ziggy, it's too late now…." He sighed.

Stephanie couldn't believe what she heard. Ziggy had an attack, and Sportacus had been unable to save him. She felt guilty. If she had been on patrol with him… Stephanie twirled the medical pen he had entrusted to her. He had counted on her to save his life, and she had failed.

The funeral was a somber affair. Even Trixie had nothing to say. Sportacus gave the eulogy because, well, he was awesome, and everyone knew he would do a good job. Stephanie could not imagine life would be like without Ziggy. He had been in her life for years.

She was still in disbelief when the casket was lowered; sobbing in disbelief that Sportacus was not making everything better. He was off with Pixel of all people, arguing madly. The pink-haired girl excused herself. She slumped down on the hill, and cried. Stephanie was not even there two minutes before a familiar blue form wrapped his arms around her.

"Sportacus," Stephanie whispered, "I just can't believe this would happen. He was always so careful!" She sobbed that last part. Ziggy was not a little kid. He recognized his limits and he stayed as healthy as possible. Now he was dead.

And things just got worse from there.

In the following months, Trixie acted worse than before. Instead of letting up, she was even nastier to those around her. Pixel got in trouble for putting cameras in private places. He violated his friend's trust when a camera was discovered in Ziggy's house, and Stingy was still a kleptomaniac, taking whatever he got his hands on. It was like the pureness of the group was just removed. Stephanie wondered what had happened to the happy group. At least Creepy Crassus had recovered enough that he no longer demanded the presence of the group. Actually, her uncle cut her a break. He told Robbie that, "Your friend has taken enough, and the children have lost enough too!" Although tried to keep the incident quiet, his wife had been right there, and she spread it around as much as possible.

Trixie ran away from home before this pronouncement had been made. It was too bad. Stephanie missed her very, very much.

The doorbell rang, probably more bad news, Stephanie thought to herself. She was right, of course, but when she opened the door, she gasped happily, "Sportacus!" She cried, jumping into his arms. He smiled, accepting her hug. He held on just a bit too long.

"It's time for training, c'mon," he said, and dragged her along. She was so happy; she did not even ask him what had changed. Chances were she had to return to helping Crassus the next day. Sportacus called for a ladder, and climbed up before her.

Eventually, her curiosity got the better of her, "Sportacus…"

He sighed tiredly. Then he pressed a button and a computer dropped down. It was a picture of him, much younger, with a smile, and large silver medallion about his neck. Sportacus cursed some German judge, and started. Before I came to Lazy Town, I was an athlete. I met Crassus when I was very young. We were both excellent athletes, and very, very competitive. He was a wild one, and a bit of a cheat. Thing is, he was pure evil. Steroids, drugs, booze; Crassus was into anything and everything. It drove him crazy, started half a dozen scandals before he was kicked out. We were friends, and I should have found a way to stop him but… I didn't…" He had now shared his darkest secret.

Stephanie stared at her hero in shock. He was crying. She lunged forward, saying, "I couldn't keep Ziggy from eating candy, stop Trixie from being mean, take something from Stingy, or keep Pixel away from his computers. You did the best you could, I know you did."

Sportacus let out a shudder, clutching Stephanie tightly. He felt a flow of forgiveness in his heart.

"Stephanie, he's here. That means trouble," He then went onto explain what happened the day Ziggy died. "Here's the thing, there wasn't any insulin in the epi-pens. It was sugar water." He could see the gears whirring: Someone had swapped the pens filled with insulin with sugar water, Ziggy had been injecting himself with poison, someone then hit Sportacus, a dodge ball pro, with a ball, shattering the pen he kept on him, and Ziggy had been injected with even more sugar water upon his friend's arrival. Stephanie looked suspiciously at Sportacus.

"So let me get this straight: Someone who would have been around Ziggy for hours on end, who has access to a Candymaker 3000, and wanted revenge on the group," Stephanie saw the stony face of her mentor realizing what he was saying; homicide. Sportacus did not speak for several minutes.

"Stephanie, I believe that kids are smart, that they know when things get too big for them. I am counting on you now, stay down. Pixel is under house arrest, thanks to Robbie's newest house-cozy invention, there's no way he can get out. No one's heard from Trixie in days. Ziggy's dead. I need you to promise me to be careful, okay?" She looked up at his hopeful face and nodded.

"I promise."


	3. Chapter Hospital

Chapter Three Hospital

True to her fears, Stingy too, was hospitalized. Apparently he found out how expensive a transformer was, and climbed on the power lines to get one. The result was not as funny as it sounded over the phone. Someone seemed to have it out for the kids. Sportacus made Stephanie promise to be careful, but he had not told her she could not visit her friends.

He was too weak to even to squeeze out a, "Mine," when she looked at his cards. She stayed by his side all night, only waking to readjust herself. A nurse dropped off a large card, one of those massive comic ones that freak out small children and the elderly. It had stars colorfully blasting across the cover with a raccoon dancing happily for some reason.

The front read,

Here's a get well soon from a happy fantastic raccoon!

It's also true….

Stephanie opened the card and gasped when she read the blood red letters.

I came for your friend, and I'm coming for you.

A lock of Trixie's hair was stuck to the inside. Stephanie let out a scream.

Sportacus was up on his airship, watching the town below for trouble. He knew who he was looking for: Crassus. Of course, his old rival had gone insane from the debauchery, but Sportacus knew in his heart that would not stop the other athlete's crafty mind. The two had gone head-to-head before, but the stakes had never been this high. Robbie had been unusually quiet these last few weeks out of consideration. Sportacus wondered if he might be dead. Crassus was not a great friend to have for extended amounts.

Pixel had done the research into the past between Sportacus and Crassus, and discovered what had happened. He had also been the one to keep an eye out for the evil man. Currently, the carrot-topped young techno-wizard was tracking down Trixie, but it was difficult. She had been in a chat room, not giving head to any warnings from Sportacus, and chose to meet up with a 'friend.' Pixel had discovered she had bought a ticket out of Lazy Town, but had not been seen on the train itself.

Sportacus was trying to stay positive, but he knew, in his heart, she was dead. His concern for Stephanie only grew. It was no coincidence she was last. Pixel had a security system powerful enough to give Sportacus trouble, so Crassus could not simply kill the boy in his home. But the fact that Robbie had been so silent lately was scary. He could have cooked up a half-dozen destructive devices.

Sportacus turned his attention to Lazy Town hospital. Stephanie was there, he knew that she would not stay away. Though he had always been protective of her, he had to admit the girl was certainly capable of taking care of herself. She had long proven to be a capable partner and a great friend. The reason he had not locked her in his airship was because taking freedom from Stephanie was just like killing her. She would agree to stay safe, but she would not be the same, vibrant girl he had watched growing up. Sportacus did not want to bury another friend so soon.

To his surprise Stephanie left the hospital. Sportacus spotted a suspicious character leaving the hospital behind Stephanie. The figure was wrapped in raggedy bandages from head to toe, but he was clearly a powerful man. The blue elf knew what had to be done right before his crystal beeped. He leapt from his airship, and plunged down to the ground. The wind swept up, and he almost blew off course. A storm was blowing in, just going to prove that he had no friend in fate. Sportacus concentrated on Stephanie, making his way to her.

As the raindrops fell, Stephanie lowered her head, and ran home. She could hear footsteps behind her, and ran even faster. The pink-haired girl tripped by the field and turned to see a familiar figure behind her.

"No, no, no…!" She sobbed backing up. It had to be Crassus. Only he was that big, and had glowing red eyes. Just as he was about to reach her, something blue slammed into him. "Sportacus!" Stephanie yelled happily, never more glad to see him.

"Stephanie, get out of here!" Yelled her friend, battling the fiend.

Crassus, though injured, was an even opponent for the hero, and they wrestled back and forth.

"How are you, old friend? Is dear, sweet, pure Stephanie going to be okay without you there every moment to protect her? I left a little gift for that Stingy boy! So, are you going to protect her, or save him?" He crowed this last part happily, boasting on himself until a pink shoe collided with his stomach. Sportacus watched as Stephanie, with pink cheeks, glowered angrily at Crassus.

"I'll take care of Stingy," she proclaimed. "You take care of the freak!"

"Okay," Cried Sportacus, "But then go home, Stephanie!"

She took off for the hospital, and then all hell broke loose.


	4. Chapter Four: Final Chapter

Final Chapter

As it turned out, Robbie had not been on vacation, he had been designing a new series of terrifying robots, which, at his friend's request, had been set on the town. In the chaos, Crassus managed to escape. Acid, fire, and sheep (yeah, Robbie was weird) Spewed for the mouths of the monstrosities. Sportacus tried to do as much as he could, but he knew Stephanie would save her friend, and then go home, where it was safe.

He could not have been more wrong.

True to her word, the pink girl had gone and saved her friend's life. But she stopped on the way to help those in trouble. She was sure Sportacus had his hands full; his crystal was no doubt beeping constantly. Besides, she was his partner. Just because his old rival showed up did not mean she would stop being helpful. Stephanie had helped get schoolchildren inside, and locked down the hatches. Her uncle was staying at city hall, confident that Sportacus would save the day, again. She knew she was missing something… seconds ticked past as she heard a familiar 'mew' come from a nearby tree. Stephanie remembered the cat that Sportacus seemed to be forever pulling out of trouble. She thought of herself in that moment. It was a cute creature, agile, intelligent, intuitive, sweet to its friends, but with claws. Stephanie gathered the creature in her arms and ran home, dodging robots along the way.

She finally managed to get home through the pouring rain. The cat bolted from her hands the second they were inside. Stephanie went to the window, praying nothing bad had happened to Sportacus. She found her house to be cold. The storm had knocked out the power. Stephanie was confident that Sportacus did not want her help, so she changed into her pink nightgown and got into bed. It was absolutely dark when the house shook. It took her back to the day when Robbie put the house cozy over Pixel's home. Stephanie peered outside to find her window blocked. The clock on her nightstand read 8:08. Sportacus must be exhausted by now, Stephanie thought to herself. It was then that the cruel laughter hit her ears.

"Sportacus was a fool to think he could protect you, sweet Stephanie," The voice rang out, "I must admit, I've always had a taste for little girls. Trixie was a bit on the bitter side, tasting like pickles and mustard. I think you will taste far sweeter…" The voice sent chills down the teenager's spine. She swallowed. Sportacus was too busy, and there was no way she could beat Crassus. Stephanie vowed she would do her best. Looking to her left, she spotted her pink diary. Quickly jotting down what he had said, she flung it into her pillow. Even if he killed her, Sportacus would find the book, and he could take down Crassus once and for all.

Next, the pink haired girl checked for an escape. Her window was shut, but as she stepped into the hall tentatively, something squished beneath her foot. It was the cat. Stephanie muffled her scream. Sportacus had taught her, now she just needed to remember what he had told her. In a panic, calm down, the first step towards a solution was to have a sound mind. Helping Sportacus with his boot problem came to mind. Stephanie took a deep breath. Something horrible was going to happen to her, she had to accept the fact that no hero would swoop in to save her. She also realized she had no chance of beating Crassus. The man was huge. "Don't be afraid of anything," Sportacus told her. When she was being followed by a dinosaur (Okay, it was Robbie in a suit, but she did not know that) she got the upper hand by surprising him. Stephanie took a step back, only to run into a solid object. The object wrapped his arms around her, crushing the air from her lungs.

Fighting him proved futile. When he bored of squeezing her to him, he threw her to the bed, which she bounced off and hit the wall. Stephanie took a breath, and threw her sheet over his head, using the mattress as a springboard, she vaulted over him. Ignoring the cat, Stephanie made her way to the front door. It was sealed shut.

"No way out, sweet girl," Crassus whispered huskily. He drew close to her, like a predator. Sportacus was not coming. Stephanie closed her eyes, trying to bring a happy memory to mind.

_She and Trixie were at a sexual harassment seminar. Her friend had been dragged their by her mother, and insisted on not going there without someone to divert her attention. Trixie had spent the first half hour making dirty jokes. Some had been pretty bad. _

"_I'd let his crystal beep, anytime," Trixie hissed through clenched teeth. Although virtually every woman in town had a crush on Sportacus, Stephanie blushed at the idea of any girl and the man. He was a hero; love was simply not his destiny. Sportacus asked for a volunteer. Miss Busybody came to the front. _

Strong hands encircled her wrists, dragging her to the earth. Years of training taught her how to hit the ground without damaging herself. She tried to roll away, but his strong grip was like iron around her wrists. Stephanie cried out in pain and shock. Crassus was massive, at least two hundred fifty pounds. He trapped her hands over her head, and licked her face. He whispered something threatening, and ripped her nightgown open. The cold air did little to settle the knot of fear in her stomach.

"_Lay down," He commanded. Stephanie was on the edge of her seat, curious to see what would happen next. Sportacus stood up straight to address his audience, "A woman's hips can thrust three times her body-weight. In the instance of an assault, you need to try and assume the following position."_

_Miss Busybody was laid flat on her back. Sportacus crawled on top of her. She giggled, "Oh Sportacus!" She cried struggling under him. She took her sweet time resisting him. Stephanie watched as her uncle's girlfriend allowed Sportacus to essentially dry-hump her. It was very awkward._

Stephanie could feel Crassus readjusting himself beneath her. She stopped struggling, aligning herself in the form Sportacus had been teaching. She took a breath, and thrust upward, and felt a powerful piercing sensation. Crassus went flying, first hitting the ceiling, then slamming face-first into the ground beside her. Stephanie was shocked at her strength, until she spotted a blue, bloody figure above her. "Sportacus," She cried happily, covering herself. Sportacus and Crassus collided noisily. They wrestled for precious seconds, too evenly matched. Both were damaged, both exhausted from the strain. Sportacus was illuminated by his crystal, which was beeping noisily. Beep-beep, Beep-beep…. Beep-beep…. Beep…. Beep… Stephanie knew somebody was in trouble. She watched as the glow slowed, and the beeping died out. Crassus stopped breathing. Stephanie let out a sob. She crawled away to her room. Sportacus hit the ground with a thud. He was afraid that he was too late, and, seeing the blood on Stephanie's leg, figured he was. He could no longer keep the darkness away from her. Stephanie walked back into the room dressed as Sporta-Steph. She took his crystal, laid him in her bed, and took off into the night to save people and fight monsters. She headed for the….

"Door," Sporta-Steph called as she placed Volume 9 back on the shelf of the airship. It had been two years since Sportacus had left for his retirement. He seemed to want her to stand on her own. She had read volumes one through eight with mild interest. Every hero before her had something interesting to teach her, and she had paid attention. It was humbling to think that someday soon her diary would be on the shelf next to these brave men and women. Admittedly, only two others were girls, numbers four and eight, but she was proud to be a member of this group. Volume nine had told her the backstory of Sportacus himself. (Real name; Bob Putts. No, seriously, that was his name.) She had read as he had grown from a ten-year-old soft-hearted boy into a man.

Sporta-Steph looked at volume ten with apprehension. Sportacus had left so she would be free as her own hero. It bothered him that she may not be able to do it on her own, but he left anyway. Here, on the hidden shelf, was his most private thoughts his most intimate desires. Sporta-Steph thumbed the book absentmindedly. She had to read it. But she could not unread it. Her hero would be laid bare before her, flaws, faults and failures. She would find out what had happened with Crassus (who, though only mentioned in passing, sent an unfamiliar chill down her spine) and what he felt about her training, her growth as a hero, about her. That was what scared her. Was she a real hero? Did he love her?

She thought back to her first day in Lazy Town. Sportacus had shown up and blown the town away. And now she wondered if she truly was a hero. The crystal attached to her chest beeped loudly. "Somebody's in trouble," She said absent mindedly. She took off for the door, which she had already opened to watch her friends.

Down on the playground below, Robbie Rotten was screaming at the children. Age had not been kind to him. He hobbled about noisily.

A boy with bright blue hair came flipping in. Stingy had a son. "Mine!" had been the first word out of her friend's mouth as a father. Fortunately, his son was much more generous. He was kind, loving, gentle, and quite the athlete. Sporta-Steph jumped from the airship, spinning in mid-air. She'd go down there, teach the kids something. Her actions made her a hero to them, just as his actions made Sportacus a hero to her.

She could be a true hero to them, and read volume ten tomorrow.


End file.
